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Resheph's Golden Salvage Guide for Puppetmasters
=What is this Article?= This article is a guide which explains a technique developed by myself and the PuppetShow linkshell on Cerberus. I have created it to assist my fellow Puppetmasters by revealing an easy and inexpensive way that Puppetmasters or someone with Puppetmaster as their Support Job can be as effective at soloing Golden Salvage as a Summoner can. However, the execution of this method is so different and complicated that I felt it was necessary to make a separate article for it rather than a simple note. Why should Puppetmasters do Golden Salvage? The answer is: Pahluwan Khazagand. =What is Golden Salvage?= Golden Salvage is an Assault mission wherein you are given the task of locating a treasure chest which contains a golden figurehead. The catch is that there is only one correct chest and many mimics which will attack and draw-in anyone who gets too close. There are also true-sight/true-sound mobs in the zone called Percipient Fish which can cause some problems. You have to be able to survive the mimics and the fish and locate the golden figurehead in order to achieve a victory. *See the article Golden Salvage for more detailed information. =Getting Ready= You will need at least three people and there are several possible Job and Support Job configurations that can give you different advantages for the method which I am about to describe. The most advantageous ones being Puppetmaster/Ninja or Ninja/Puppetmaster with at least Utsusemi: Ichi. This is so that you can have an automaton activated and shadows ready so that you can take a few free hits from the mobs before you activate the macro which is vital to this strategy. Configurations such as Puppetmaster/Red Mage for spells like Blink and healing magic or any job with a Puppetmaster Support Job can also work but are less effective. You must also have a Flashbulb in order to execute this technique. While other functions of the automaton such as spells and abilities have been known to work, the only truly reliable choice is the flashbulb. Requirements Summary *Puppetmaster main job or Support Job. *Utsusemi or Blink. *An Automaton. *A Flashbulb equipped on your automaton. *An Animator for maneuvers. =How it is Done= When you enter the zone, the first thing you will want to do is cast your buffs and activate your automaton. It is vital to keep in mind that in order to perform this technique repeatedly you must wait roughly one minute after each time you use it and your automaton must have completely full HP. If it has not been at least one minute, or your automaton has taken a hit, the macro that is used for this technique will fail, usually costing you the life of your automaton and leaving you unable to re-activate it and therefore unable to perform the macro a second time. :There are several things that factor into the reason for this wait period: *Deactivate has a one minute timer and must be given time to "cool down" in order to be used again. *There is a high risk you will Overload if you use a maneuver too soon after activating your automaton. *The automaton's version of Flash seems to have a timer which counts down from the time of activation that is roughly 45-60 seconds. *Your automaton must have full HP when deactivated in order to be able re-activate it immediately. :In short, waiting one minute after activating again ensures that conditions are safe to check another chest. From the point where you start, directly to the west of your group will be a path that leads to a southern area with no Percipient Fish, a little ways north a path leading east and then north will lead to another such area. It is often easier to check these two paths before proceeding out into the open area where the Percipient Fish are located. A lot of times you can locate the correct chest and win without ever needing to deal with the aggressive monsters. Once you have located a Cursed Chest you need to use a Light Maneuver so that your automaton will be able to Flashbulb it and approach it. If it is not the chest containing the golden figure-head, that means it is a Mimic and it will become a mob and attack you. It is a good idea to let it get its first round of attacks on you/your shadows. At this point, between it's attack rounds and while it is not claimed, you can execute the following macro to neutralize it without having to get your hands dirty. */pet "Deploy" */wait 1 */ja "Deactivate" That's all it takes. The Cursed Chest will return to it's previous state (temporarily ceasing to be a Mimic) and you can run away from it without being drawn-in or attacked. I have not tested how long the chest will remain like this before it becomes a Mimic again. Since there is no reason to hang around /poking it anyway, it's recommended that you get away from it as quickly as possible. *Afterwards, you can Activate your automaton again and you should wait at least one minute before checking the next chest to ensure that conditions are safe to repeat the process on another chest. How This Method Works This macro causes your Automaton to briefly engage the chest just long enough to Flashbulb it, grabbing just enough hate to aggro it without claiming the mob, then deactivateing and releasing all hate entirely. The result is that the chest will return to a green NPC state and you can simply run away from it. Handling Percipient Fish You can use the same macro on the Percipient Fish in the zone. But, since Percipient Fish are Notorious Monsters, they will behave like they do when they kill someone and there is no other hate being generated on them by a party member. They will lose all hate and sit there for a moment and then begin to return to the point where they spawned from. It is recommended that if you have to enter the northern area with these fish that you split-up teams and each handle them separately. When a Fish is Humpin' Your Box Sometimes, you'll come upon a chest that you need to check but there is a Percipient Fish hanging around all close to it. If you are alone you will have to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to check it, but if you have a group of Puppetmasters you can use teamwork to deal with this problem. You can have one of your friends intentionally aggro it and pull it away from the chest, long enough for you to check it and move on or get the prize if it happens to be the right one. This is a risky thing to do but can save a lot of time and someone with experience using this macro should have no problem taking care of it. However, one must remember that the Percipient Fish do not despawn so there is a limited time before it will become aggressive again and start to return to it's starting area. Handling Normal Mobs and Links This technique can be used on normal mobs and links to de-spawn them. When the macro is used on a normal type of mob, they behave like any mob that has just killed a person does. If they have moved far enough from their starting point they will de-spawn. If they are still too close to their spawn location, they return to a docile state unless someone pulls aggro again by the usual methods. The Risks Involved The thing about this way of doing Golden Salvage is that if it doesn't go 100% flawlessly, you will fail. There are a lot of factors that I have discussed above which you must keep in mind in order for it to work. If you mess it up you will not likely survive. Practice is the key to success. *You must have a Flashbulb. *You must have a Light Maneuver in place. *You must wait one minute from the time that your automaton deactivates. If you do not follow the instructions exactly you will likely end up without your Automaton to help you, get drawn in, and die a sad, pitiful death. *You must re-target the chest after it changes from a docile green npc, to an unclaimed monster. =Recap/Abridged version= *Have Shadows up. *Have Light Maneuver up. *Use the following Macro: **/pet "Deploy" **/wait 1 **/ja "Deactivate" *Run! *Reactivate your automaton. *Wait one minute. *Lather, rinse, repeat! =Additional Macros= It has been some time since I first drafted this article and thinking back, there are quite a few different ways one can adjust the given macro to suit their needs. Below are some suggestions for expanding upon the basic three lines of the macro given above. Activation Macros This macro is a simple add-on to the activate macro which will allow you to gauge when your automaton is ready to perform the trick again. I find it really helpful. */ja "Activate" */wait 60 */echo Mimic Check Ready! I would also suggest that if you do use one of these macros, be sure to re-cast Utsusemi beforehand. When you use a macro, it automatically cancels any other macro which might still be in progress. That means if you do your Activate macro and then your Utsusemi macro, whatever was left of the first macro that was not executed will be truncated and you won't get your alert for when your automaton is ready again. Adding Light Maneuver to the Macro The #1 way which people mess up when performing this method is by forgetting to have Light Maneuver Active when deploying. This can be solved by adding the actual Light Maneuver to the beginning of the macro so that it is performed automatically along with the other functions, reducing the risk of a screw-up. */ja "Light Maneuver" */wait 1 */pet "Deploy" */wait 1 */ja "Deactivate" =Suggested Setup= Through trial and error with having done this so many times, I have come up with a particular automaton setup and equipment that I feel best suits this task. You can easily perform this method without needing this setup, but I felt like I would share the way I like to do it. Automaton Frame and Attachments The best automaton frame to use for this is the Sharpshot Frame, because it has the highest Agility of all the various forms you could choose from. The idea behind using this frame and the attachments listed below comes from the knowledge that you are only going to need your automaton engaged on the mob for a split second, so evasion is key. The Optic Fiber enhances any attachments that you have mounted, so your automaton will have even further enhanced evasion when you execute the technique on the chest. *Flashbulb - Mandatory! *Optic Fiber *Accelerator *Accelerator II *Smoke Screen Master Equipment The idea for gearing yourself is the same idea for gearing your puppet. What you wear doesn't matter a whole lot, if you have Ninja as your subjob, but it can still help. Shoot for evasion, because you're not going to be fighting anything and saving shihei doesn't hurt. What I have listed Below isn't the whole spectrum of possibilities, but this is what I wear while doing this. *Optical Hat *Evasion Torque *Velocity Earring *Evasion Earring *Fencing Bracers *Dodge Cape *Dance Shoes However, if I had to choose a single set of equipment that I would suggest to wear while doing this, it would most definitely be the Crow Jupon Set. It is conveniently wearable by PUP at level 50, the minimum level required to access this Assault. The total stats of this set will give you +26 evasion and -28 enmity. If you have read and understand this article, you should realize how much of an advantage this set can give you. Reducing Overload Rates Certain pieces of equipment can be worn to reduce overload rates, making it a little easier to perform this technique. *Buffoon's Collar *Puppetry Dastanas =A Note on Enmity= Since I started doing this I have noticed that the enmity of this method is a very, very delicate factor which can often get you killed if you aren't on your toes. You should never go into this with your automaton equipped with a Stealth Screen, you should never wear any enmity increasing equipment while doing this, and you should never be under the effects of any food that increases enmity. To drive home my point on how delicate the balance truly is, I'll relate a story which ends in me dying like a total n00b. I was helping out another Puppetmaster with getting his Pahluwan Khazagand by going along with him and teaching him how I do this, when I accidentally deployed my automaton without a Light Maneuver in place, then uselessly deactivating the automaton without removing the aggro of the Cursed Chest. This can happen a lot and almost always ends in death, but I persevered. I re-summoned my automaton and managed to stay alive by re-casting Utsusemi over and over, long enough to successfully attempt the macro a second time. I deployed with Light on, Genta Flashed the chest, and deactivated-all went according to plan the second time. Unfortunately, the chest continued to hit me and I died. As I lay in the mud pondering the circumstances of my demise, I realized that the reason I had died was the enmity generated by recasting my shadows. It is the same concept that allows a PL to tank a mob for a party by cure-bombing them. You can generate hate on a mob without claiming it, and if you generate too much a Flashbulb just isn't going to save you. You have one chance to get it right. If you don't you are pretty much dead. =Credits/Disclaimer= As mentioned at the beginning of this article, this is a guide. It is also a work in progress, so if you are really into doing this Assault using these instructions you should come back frequently to see if I have made any changes. If you find that something here is incorrect or has changed since the last date that this article was updated please feel free to leave me a note in the discussion area or send me a /tell on Odin and I will do what I can to investigate and make the necessary corrections. I would like to make mention of my friends in the PuppetShow Linkshell on Cerberus. It was these folks who showed me how to use the macro on normal mobs, who worked together to get eve-ryone in the linkshell their Pahluwan Khazagands, which gave me the idea to try the macro out on the chests and lead to the development of this article. *Since the original posting of this article I have received a lot of feedback and questions in the form of /tells, posts, e-mails, etc. I really appreciate all the input and I have to thank everyone who have contributed to making this article more and more accurate. Keep the info coming and let's keep thinking of new ways to use our little robots to get the gear that we need.Resheph 20:28, 21 January 2008 (UTC) =Example Video By Kiyoo= *This video was made by another Puppetmaster who read this article and decided to make a visual version. Executed perfectly! Thanks, Kiyoo, for saving me the trouble of making one myself and great job! ^_^ =Additional Assaults= It has come to my attention since writing this article that the technique outlined here can also be adapted to use in other assaults with relative ease. I will continue to add to this list as I find out which ones work and which ones don't. *Evade and Escape: Flash macro can be used to bypass the Dahaks that are in the way or save oneself or team mates from accidental aggro. Since you can hide from the Dahaks, this should be used as infrequently possible, so you have it as a last resort option in case of an emergency. *Orichalcum Survey: Use the macro on the worms if they pop. *Breaking Morale: Use the macro on the Mamool Ja Recruits. *Azure Ailments: I'm not sure how efficient it'd be here, but it may be possible if you let the mobs TP build on you and /DNC for Curing Waltz, although you'd want to save the Qiqirn for last because of Amnesia. *Wake the Puppet: De-aggroing Wights. *Defuse the Threat: De-aggroing Qiqirn. *Saving Private Ryaaf: Deaggro fomor pops possibly. You'll need somebody to take care of the chigoe though. *Desperately Seeking Cephalopods: Possibly de-aggro fished up monsters that aren't orobon. Thanks to Raos for testing and contributing a bunch of these. :)